Israeli Bears Feast on Holiday Cheese and Fruit - Bears in the Israeli Safari Zoo enjoy a breakfast of dairy foods ahead of the holiday of Shavuot, celebrated on Thursday. Zoo keepers smeared the walls of the bears' enclosure with soft cheese. Fruit and blocks of cheese were placed in other locations as well. [Shai David, Zoo Keeper]: "This is a special breakfast, specially made for Shavuot, the Jewish holiday. It's basically made of cheese, cream cheese, and fruits as a custom — just like we do it on this holiday." In Jewish tradition, Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah by God to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai, seven weeks after their exodus from slavery in Egypt. The holiday also marked the end of the barley harvest season, and a time when Jewish farmers took their first fruit harvest, and new-born sheep to the temple as offerings. In current Israeli society, Shavuot is associated with dairy foods and fresh fruit. Shavuot is one of the three pilgrimage festivals in Judaism during which Jewish residents of Israel walk to Jerusalem's Old City and visit the most holy Western Wall.